FTR Moto sold to Circuit of Wales developers

FTR Moto has become a household name in biking since coming to prominence in the Moto2 series and now it's been bought up by the firm behind the planned £250 million MotoGP circuit in Ebbw Vale.

The Heads of the Valleys Development Company plans to not only create a world-class circuit but to bring new business to the Ebbw Vale area and Wales as a whole. Buying FTR Moto is a step towards that.

Former HRC man Chris Herring, a director of the Heads of the Valleys Development Company, will be involved with FTR, and said: “The new partnership with FTR Moto represents a significant move for Circuit of Wales. It’s a highly successful British engineering firm, which is synonymous with high performance motor sport. We’re already receiving positive enquiries from various factions of the motor sport world for FTR Moto’s services.”

With the first phase of consultations between the development company and communities near the location for the new circuit coming to an end last week, planning applications for the Circuit of Wales are due to be presented later this month. The circuit and the technology park connected to it represent an investment of £250 million, the biggest in 50 years in the UK automotive industry.

FTR Moto has a long history working behind the scenes in bike racing but came to the fore in its own right in 2009 when it presented the Moto2 bike carrying its own name. Success there has led to FTR machines in all three tiers of the MotoGP championship – Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP.